Gender pay gaps among executives in Canada
Description: Gender pay gaps among executives in Canada
While women have made significant strides in labour force participation and educational attainment in Canada, gender-based disparities in wages and other labour market outcomes persist.
From 2016 to 2020, close to a quarter (23%) of executiveNote 1 positions were held by women.
Almost 4 in 10 businesses had at least one woman in an executive role
Percentage of businesses with at least one woman in an executive role: 38.2%
Percentage of businesses with at least one man in an executive role: 61.7%
| Average total compensation | Average base pay | Average stock options | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women | $442,100 | $339,700 | $48,700 |
| Men | $744,200 | $544,700 | $109,400 |
Women executives were younger and less likely to be married, to have at least one child and to occupy a top-level position than men executives
Women executives:
- Average age: 50 years old
- Married or common-law: 71.2%
- Have at least one child: 37.9%
Men executives:
- Average age: 52 years old
- Married or common-law: 83.8%
- Have at least one child: 39.8%
| All executives | Women | Men | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board Chair | 3.8% | 2.3% | 4.2% |
| President | 24.3% | 10.9% | 27.9% |
| Vice-President | 42.7% | 40.6% | 43.3% |
| Executive Vice-President | 7.0% | 5.9% | 7.3% |
| Secretary | 9.6% | 18.6% | 7.1% |
| Assistant Secretary | 4.4% | 10.0% | 2.9% |
| Secretary–Treasurer | 1.7% | 2.1% | 1.6% |
| Treasurer | 4.2% | 5.9% | 3.8% |
| Other | 2.3% | 3.7% | 1.9% |
Note: This infographic covers businesses that employed executives and had average sales of $900 million and average assets of $11.1 billion. The data presented are considered exploratory and should be interpreted with caution.
Source: Frias Corona, D., L.-M. Longpré-Verret and M. Ouyang, 2024, “Gender pay gaps among board directors and officers in Canada,” Analysis in brief, Statistics Canada Catalogue no.11-621-M.
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